OBJECTIVECongenital heart disease (CHD) is a chronic illness with a high frequency in the worldwide population, and is normally diagnosed at birth or in uterus. Because of better conditions in diagnosis and early medical and surgical treatment, patients have survival rates of 90% and go further and further in life, facing different challenges in life cycle. In this study, we tested the effects of different demographic, clinical and psychosocial variables on the perception of quality of life (QOL), on psychosocial adjustment (PSA) and psychiatric morbidity (PM) of adolescents and young adults with CHD. We aimed to evaluate QOL, PM and PSA of adolescents and young adults with CHD and to determine which variables (demographic, clinical, and psychosocial) play a role in buffering stress and promoting resilience and which ones have a detrimental effect.

METHODSThe study enrolled 150 CHD patients (87 males and 63 females), 12 to 26 years (17.45±3.373 years). The participants were interviewed regarding social support, family educational style, self-image, demographic information and physical limitations. They responded to questions in a standardized psychiatric interview (SADS-L) and completed self-reports questionnaires for assessment of QOL (WHOQOL-BREF) and PSA (YSR/ASR).

RESULTSWe found a 18.7% lifetime prevalence of psychopathology in our participants (25.4% in females and 13.8% in males). 57.1% had retentions in school (1.53±0.804 year). The perception of QOL of CHD patients is better compared to the Portuguese population in the social relationships, environmental, physical and general dimensions. However, it is worse in female CHD patients and patients with poor academic performance and social support as well as in patients with complex or cyanotic CHD, moderate-to-severe residual lesions and physical limitations, and undergoing surgery. All of these variables, except presence of cyanosis, are also associated to a worse PSA.

CONCLUSIONSFemale patients and patients with poor academic performance and poor social support refer worse PSA and QOL.

Adaptation, Psychological ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; psychology ; Humans ; Male ; Morbidity ; Quality of Life ; Social Support ; Young Adult

Neospora caninum (Apicomplexa; Sarcocystidae) is a protozoan that causes abortion in cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs as well as neurological and dermatological diseases in dogs. In the central nervous system of dogs infected with N. caninum, cysts were detected that exhibited gliosis and meningitis. Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that exhibit antibacterial, antiparasitic, antifungal, and antiviral properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of flavonoids in a well-established in vitro model of N. caninum infection in glial cell cultures. Glial cells were treated individually with 10 different flavonoids, and a subset of cultures was also infected with the NC-1 strain of N. caninum. All of the flavonoids tested induced an increase in the metabolism of glial cells and many of them increased nitrite levels in cultures infected with NC-1 compared to controls and uninfected cultures. Among the flavonoids tested, 3',4'-dihydroxyflavone, 3',4',5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone (luteolin), and 3,3',4',5,6-pentahydroxyflavone (quercetin), also inhibited parasitophorous vacuole formation. Taken together, our findings show that flavonoids modulate glial cell responses, increase NO secretion, and interfere with N. caninum infection and proliferation.
Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Flavonoids/*pharmacology ; Immunologic Factors/*pharmacology ; Neospora/*drug effects/*growth & development ; Neuroglia/*drug effects/*parasitology ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the synergic effects of a novel oral supplement formulation, containing prebiotics, yeast β-glucans, minerals and silymarin (Silybum marianum), on lipid and glycidic metabolism, inflammatory and mitochondrial proteins of the liver, in control and high-fat diet-induced obese mice. METHODS: After an acclimation period, 32 male C57BL/6 mice were divided into the following groups: nonfat diet (NFD) vehicle, NFD supplemented, high-fat diet (HFD) vehicle and HFD supplemented. The vehicle and experimental formulation were administered orally by gavage once a day during the last four weeks of the diet (28 consecutive days). We then evaluated energy homeostasis, inflammation, and mitochondrial protein expression in these groups of mice. RESULTS: After four weeks of supplementation, study groups experienced reduced glycemia, dyslipidemia, fat, and hepatic fibrosis levels. Additionally, proliferator-activated receptor-α, AMP-activated protein kinase-1α, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator-1α, and mitochondrial transcription factor A expression levels were augmented; however, levels of inhibitor of nuclear factor-κB kinase subunit α and p65 nuclear factor-κB expression, and oxidative markers were reduced. Notably, the cortisol/C-reactive protein ratio, a well-characterized marker of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis immune interface status, was found to be modulated by the supplement. CONCLUSION We discovered that the novel supplement was able to modify different antioxidant, metabolic and inflammatory pathways, improving the energy homeostasis and inflammatory status, and consequently alleviated hepatic steatosis.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; Dietary Supplements ; Glucans ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System ; Liver ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Obese ; Milk Thistle ; Minerals ; Pituitary-Adrenal System ; Prebiotics ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae